Pink's embarking on a 22-date North American outing next month, kicking off the trek June 24 in Chicago and wrapping it July 29 in Dallas. Since she hasn't done a full tour in a while, she's looking forward to it, calling it a stress reliever. "It's the only time I can ... let go and stop thinking and worrying and analyzing and processing," she said.

And for the singer — who's been known to cover anyone from Bob Marley to Billy Idol to Guns N' Roses to Janis Joplin in concert — being on the road is the best way to let it all go. At the final show on her last tour, her bus drivers came out dressed as her dancers — wearing Mohawks and lingerie. "I [was] paying attention to what [I was] doing, and then I turned around and saw them," she said. "They weren't kidding, this was their moment. My manager and accountant came crawling across the stage topless with nipple tape. And I couldn't perform the next two songs, I was just sitting there and laughing. It was fun."

Plus, when Pink's onstage, she has a habit of picking out a favorite fan to watch during the show, based on "the look of thirst in their eyes." "There was this 60- or 70-year-old guy at one show, fully white hair, in the front row, being pushed against the barricade, hands in the air, singing every word," she recalled. "I couldn't help but look at him the whole time. I couldn't believe it. I was so fascinated by him, I fell in love with him. I wanted him to be my backup dancer."

Not that most of her crowd consists of senior citizens — far from it. "I've never been able to describe a Pink fan," she said. "It's a melee, an assortment of flavors. So much for racism, sexism and all the 'isms' — I love it!"